Pullin from the Stacks

Omega and I go way, way back, co-hosting a college radio show in the late 90s, talking shit about wack emcees and going on wild digging missions in the 2000s when these tracks were recorded. He remains one of my best friends and partner in crime today. He also happens to be an incredible emcee, with a style that certain emcee(s) making a name for themselves in 2024 took a big bite from (including one who literally was in rooms in 1999 where Omega spitting...go figure). So here's some tracks - some previously released, several unreleased - that we did in the 2000s, starting with "Eye Problems" which we recorded in Philadelphia back in 2001. These are "basement classics" since most were recorded in my Brooklyn basement apartment on Cool Edit. Everything except for one produced by me. Make sure to check out Omega's amazing and prolific output as a producer and emcee at https://omegajackson.bandcamp.com/ and https://soundcloud.com/omegajackson and cop all his projects! Not to mention our recent Neosapien EP available here: https://everydaybeats.bandcamp.com/album/all-we-need-is-a-title

Been a lot going on, but finally I've returned with some treats! The records have been stacking up and need to get filed - so let's get into it! RIP to the legend Sergio Mendes, I played a short set of a few of my favorites of his. (Also RIP to the legend Frankie Beverly, tribute on a forthcoming episode.) The rest of this episode is an adventure through other recent arrivals and digs. Enjoy! Hope everyone is holding up ok in this awful world. Tracklist: Sergio Mendes (4 songs), Bobby Guajardo and the Latin Breed, Howard University Jazz Ensemble, Milcho Leviev, Release Music Orchestra, Agora, University of Puerto Rico, Elis Regina, Johnny Costa Trio

Following up on last summer's salsa mix, here's some more of my favorite selections and digs to play loud in your car, living room, porch, or wherever! Tracklist: Ricardo Marrero, Bobby Valentin, Brooklyn Sounds, Latin Tempo, Ray Barretto, Joe Torres, Tata Vasquez, Pucho and His Latin Soul Brothers

Sorry for my absence - but I'm back with some mellow sounds, starting and ending with two great versions of the classic "People Make the World Go Round." The first is by Monty Alexander, which I only recently found out about, and the last is a more well-known take by Johnny Lytle. In-between are a variety of mellow-ish tunes for coolin out in the August heat.

I don't own much reggae or dub music, and am absolutely no expert in the music or culture. But I deeply respect the politics and music, which is absolutely incredible and creative. Especially dub music, with its intricate sounds and rhythms. So here's a few selections from my tiny collection. Enjoy! Tracklist: Ernest Ranglin, Al Brown, Heptones, Burning Spear, Rico, King Tubby, Love Joys, Inner Circle, Glen Brown, Mighty Diamonds, Burning Spear

So I spent a few weeks trying to do something 'special' for episode 250 of Pullin from the Stacks, but all my attempts just didn't feel right. Which meant I just kept putting off uploading a new episode this past month. But this week it was time for the latest Walking in Space livestream (second Thursday every month on Twitch!) and I felt like it came together pretty well, a blend of everything from folky-jazz to house to live hip-hop to gospel. A couple slip-ups in-between but that's just how things go! Hope you enjoy. Thanks to all the longtime listeners for sticking around and all the new listeners for checking this out! No track list for this one, but the final track is from my dude Jumbo's excellent gospel compilation "Love Hides All Faults," which everyone should check for!

So I'm a big fan of Sean Kantrowitz's podcast, especially "Making Illmatic" which he hosts with Midaz the Beast. The latest episode had them - and guest Supastition - breaking down the best tracks on the JayLib album, and at some point there was mention of how great De La Soul would have sounded on these beats. So I decided to test some of that out, and since I only have a few De La accapellas, I mixed in several other artists as well over about 10 minutes of my favorite beats from the Jaylib album. All vinyl, put together super quick, so it's a little rough on the edges but hope you enjoy!

Back this week with some digs from the private press crate, one of my favorite places to find unique sounds and creative flavors. Hope you dig! Tracklist: Morning Sky, Faces of Jazz, Dale Jacobs Group, Lamont Johnson, Guzzia Bros. Band, Danny Ward and Reality, Les James Trio

I've been starting to index my records on Discogs recently, and it's been a good exercise to go back through a lot of albums I haven't listened to in a minute and decide whether I still want to keep them. When I first started digging in the mid-90s, Jimmy Smith albums (except for the elusive Root Down) seemed to be in dollar bins everywhere. I eagerly scooped them up since it was still Blue Note (many first presses) and you never knew what cool sounds you'd find on there. But admittedly as the years have passed, I've realized I can only handle so much b3 organ playing, especially in the more straight-ahead style of many of Smith's albums. So it's not often I've gone back to these records. But this week as I categorized them all and put a few on, I figured it was a good time to do a short tribute to the legend, and play a few non-Beastie Boy-sampled cuts I enjoy. A little crunchy at times but still some funky stuff! Dig it.

Third mixture of eclectic flavors in my Walking in Space live stream series. Monthly every Thursday live on Twitch at 7pm PST and 10pm EST - twitch.tv/djianhead - playing all types of things analog and digital.